1. Concepts – Relationship between Language, Identity, Culture
Concepts – Relationship between Language, Identity, Culture
Concepts – Relationship between Language, Identity, Culture
Explain whether you agree or disagree with the concepts below.
- Reconnecting and Reconstructing cultural identity through language
– As Maureen Ten rediscovers her Chinese name, she reflects how language continues to re-construct cultural identity, re-define bilingual position in society, and re-gain sense of self.
– Jaya Savige’s depiction of a didgeridoo player in Rome reveals how in a global world, culture and the cultural identities of people living within a culture are hybrid, interrelated, and constantly changing than ever before.
- Cultural identity is constantly changing
– By contrasting his mother’s life in Saigon with Australia, Vuong Pham depicts how culture has been changed by historical and social conditions and necessities of the individual.
– Vuong Pham reflects how cultural identity is dynamic and always changing as he recounts his changing perspectives on his mother’s refugee story.
- In a global multicultural society, cultural identification goes beyond race and ethnicity.
– Merlinda Bobis’s transition between four languages reveals how every person participates in a number of different cultural groups, which affects the language they use.
– By describing her struggles to find a home, Miriam Wei Wei Lo depicts how culture is dialectical and beyond broad labels such as “good” or “bad”.
– Maureen Ten’s negotiations between her English and Chinese names reflect that culture is shared and identities and roles fluctuate throughout any given day. Cultural identification goes beyond race and ethnicity.
- Language and culture allows one to feel a sense of belonging (to inhabited country and inherent culture)
– Through the motif of storytelling, Merlinda Bobis discusses how language performs the social function of communication of the group values, beliefs and customs, and fosters feelings of group identity.
– Ouyang Yu’s humorous exploration of learning English as an adult reveals that while proficiency in the newly inhabited language is critical for successful participation in that society, one’s heritage language is crucial for one’s identity and connection to their cultural heritage
– By reflecting on his mother’s and his shared love of literature, Vuong Pham shows that language allows one to connect to cultural community and their family.
– Maureen Ten’s rediscovery of her Chinese name asserts that even if language is lost, if you have the desire to connect to heritage language, one can strengthen the inherent cultural identity.
– By illustrating how she inherits her love for storytelling from a heritage of storytellers, Merlinda Bobis celebrates how culture is learned through our families and communities.
- Language and culture contribute to a strong sense of identity
– As she reflects on the different qualities evoked by her English and Chinese names, Maureen Ten suggests that a person’s culture is an essential element of their identity. It contributes to their self-image and influences their group identity.
– Ouyang Yu’s snapshot of Chinese migrants learning English in the early 1990s shows how he ability to use a specific language in a specific context influences the development of cultural identity.
- Language allow cultural identities to be passed on through generations
– Through her depiction of her grandparents recounting folk tales to her in Bikol and Pilipino, Bobis reveals that language is the medium through which groups preserve their innate cultures and keep their traditions alive.
– By reflecting on his inadequate support for Aboriginal culture as a settler, Jaya Savige notes that culture is socially constructed through daily interactions and the relationships between existing power structures and society. Those decisions are shaped by the power relations among the participants in society.
- Language, culture, and identity are closely related
– Through his depiction of how his growth was influenced by his mother’s struggles as a refugee, Vuong Pham reveals that authentic cultural knowledge is the product of the context in which it exists and cannot be separated from the daily lives of the individuals.
– Merlinda Bobis ties together her Philippine ancestry and love for storytelling as she asserts that cultural identity can be shared through literature and language.
– As Maureen Ten muses on the erasure of her Chinese name and a feeling that she lost a part of herself as a result, she stresses that language and identity are inseparably associated with each other.
– Miriam Wei Wei Lo’s religious values determines her attitude towards morality and approaches to everyday life such as work ethic, raising children, relationships, and manners.
– Vuong Pham’s discovery of a shared love for literature with his mother and their subsequent bonding reveals that language expresses feelings, thoughts and is a tool to form relationships.